Tşnaud

 

In 1998 Kathy and I visited Pastor Petru Vezentan in Satu Mare, Romania.  Pastor Peter lived right in the city but had a ministry to small village churches in the vicinity.  He didn’t have a car, but he rode his bicycle, took buses, or hitchhiked to his churches.  We came with 10,000 copies of John/Romans and helped with evangelism.  There were ten of us Americans, and we had two vans, so Pastor Peter was doing well that week.  We drove to villages in the day, distributed Scriptures, and came back to stay in Satu Mare in the evenings.  Mornings we had English lessons for Pastor Peter in his home.  His wife was a pharmacist, and his two daughters were away at college.  One day we were traveling, and he off-handedly remarked that the village that we had just passed was a gypsy village.  I asked, “Have you ever preached there?”  Pastor Peter looked puzzled for a moment and answered, “No.”  But I could tell that he was thinking.  So the next day he announced that we were stopping in that village.  We arrived and soon a crowd of fifty curious people.  A table was produced, and the meeting began.  We quoted John 3:16 phrase by phrase until they had it memorized.  Then we sang a simple song five or six times until they had it memorized.  Then we handed out Witness Bracelets and explained what the colored beads represented.  Finally, we handed out a copy of John/Romans to each adult present, although most of them could not read.  Pastor Peter’s ministry in Tşnaud had begun.  I came across this picture of their first service held in an abandoned house that winter.  You can see the happy kids (no gloves) in front of the little mud brick church.  I preached there two years later to a crowd of thirty!  The church was thriving!  I am amazed to think of God’s grace upon that little village!  David said in Psalm 143:5, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.”  Praise the Lord for wonderful memories!  Praise the good Lord for His bountiful grace!